Writing FAST - Jeff Bollow 2012

How to make an idea specific
Make your idea specific
Focus

In the last chapter, you captured your idea. You saw it. You felt it. You tasted it. You knew for certain — without a shadow of doubt — the precise idea you’re going to write about.

Right?

You’ve got it nailed, right?

You do, don’t you? Don’t... you?

Wait. What do you mean, “not quite”? You mean you’re still not sure? You mean the whole “100% certain” thing didn’t quite happen for you?

Well, listen. Don’t worry. It’s really not a problem.

Hang on. Am I changing my tune?

Absolutely not. The more clearly you see your idea, the easier your writing will be. Only when it’s crystal clear in your mind can you effectively express it.

But there’s something that’s even more important than nailing your idea. It might even be the most important thing of all:

Not getting stuck.

Don’t let yourself get stuck on any phase of writing. Keep moving forward. There’s no law that says you have to capture your idea before you start. I think it helps. I’ve seen it speed everything up. But if it’s slowing you down, come back to it.

I don’t mean you can’t think, or ponder, or weigh up different choices. I don’t even mean you shouldn’t struggle with it. Sometimes the struggle is good — your brain is figuring out the optimal solution. Struggle can lead to dramatic results.

But what you can’t do — what you must never do — is stop moving forward. The FAST System is here to help you build momentum. Don’t let it get you stuck. Remember to be flexible. It’s a guide. An approach. Not a set of rules.

Do a phase, move on. Anything you write now probably will be changed later anyway. So don’t sweat it. Maybe you need to “find” your idea by working through it.

Just be sure that when you finally do nail your idea, you write it in one sentence. You’ll need that for the Strengthen phase.

Now then.

Ready or not, it’s time to make your idea specific.

How to make an idea specific

First, let’s define “specific.”

Remember, you’re trying to get your idea into the reader’s head. That’s the most important thing. But because there are so many ways to express an idea, you’ve got to choose one.

Your idea itself is amorphous. You can’t touch it or hold it or feel it. You need to give it shape. You’ll need to find some way to allow your reader to hold it. A way to make it stick.

Take the Shawshank Redemption example. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies...”

It’s a very powerful idea. It’s worth sharing. It’s worth communicating. But does it mean anything to you? Does it hit you in the gut? Probably not.

It’s just words.

To communicate the idea — to really get the reader to understand it, we need to turn that idea into something tangible.

How does Shawshank make that idea tangible?

By telling the story of a man sentenced to life in prison — a man who refuses to let the horrors of prison crush his spirit. And by contrasting his attitude with that of his inmate friend — a man who has given up hope of a life outside the prison’s walls.

They’ve shown the idea. They’ve given “hope” a face. And a context. They’ve demonstrated that “hope is a good thing...”

By turning it into a tangible story — a story we can see and grasp — the idea springs to life. The idea can be understood in the minds of the readers.

Could the same idea (“Hope is a good thing...”) take a different shape? Absolutely! That idea could be expressed a thousand different ways.

By giving the idea this specific shape, the idea has this specific effect. If you present it another way, it’ll have a different effect.

All writing must serve its central idea.

The writing itself is the shape of that idea.

To make your idea “specific,” then, you simply decide how you want your idea to be demonstrated.